Secrets of the Heart
by JayJayWonton
Summary: A young woman named Rin joins the famed Organization XIII during it's prime and is a very excellent fighter. There isn't anything really special about her, except that, like most, her "heart" is very unpredictable, and the Nobody she's become has secrets that not even she knows.


Everyone is your ally if the enemy is yourself. But, as far as she knew, Rin didn't have any enemies. The only two people she actually knew were Ane and Adrian, two men that she travels with. They didn't have a home, so they traveled to different worlds and lived everyday like it was the last.

Rin didn't mind this lifestyle. She couldn't remember much before her 11th birthday-it was as if all of her memories we're scrambled up. It was all to hard to piece together, anyways. She didn't think much about the future, either; content the way she was living, she didn't bother to ask questions.

As she leaned against the wall of their gummi ship, Ane began walking towards her. He was only about five years older than her, and she thought of him as an older brother. He had a slight accent that she loved listening to, and his voice was smooth like butter. He had a certain charm to him that made him very likeable. His fluffy, brownish-orange hair and his light blue eyes gave him a sort of goofy look, making him all the more approachable.

"Adrian's docking the ship now," he said calmly, "You should get ready, mon cher."

"Where are we this time?" Rin asked. While She knew there were many worlds out there, she had only ever been to two or three. Ane and Adrian wouldn't allow her to travel to much.

"Radiant Garden," Ane replied, taking a couple of steps toward her. He lowered his voice. "It's less dangerous, and we could all use a break, Adrian especially."

Rin glanced over at Adrian, who was piloting the ship. He looked tired, even with his usual tough-guy look. He always seemed like he was in a grumpy mood. Ane said it was because he had a rough past. Rin knew not to pry to far into it. She couldn't remember a portion of her own past, why did it matter what Adrian's was?

A light on top of the door flashed and a little noise was made, signalling that they had landed. Adrian got out of the control seat and walked toward the door where Ane and Rin were standing. "Here we are," he said, his deep voice filling the room. Rin stared up at him. He was tall and well-built, with messy dark brown hair falling a bit over his obsidian eyes and resting gently on his tan skin. He had a scar over his left eye, and every time Rin would ask about it, he'd give her a different story.

"Where did we land?" Ane asked, trying to look out of the windows of the ship.

"The forest," Adrian replied, sighing heavily. "Get ready to fight as soon as we step out of the ship." Adrian opened the door with one hand, and in the other, he summoned his weapon: a long yet simple looking sword. He could manipulate the element of wind and was very skilled at doing it; he was probably the best fighter of the three of them.

Adrian stepped out of the gummi ship and Ane followed him, holding his hands out to summon his own weapon: a pair of thin, black gloves. While they didn't look like much, they were probably the most interesting weapon Rin had ever seen. He could pantomime any object while wearing the gloves, and a shadow copy would appear in his hands. He could use a number of different weapons, but his skill level in each of the weapons wasn't nearly as high as Adrian's. He was still and excellent fighter and tactician, however, and Rin admired him greatly.

Rin followed Ane out, and the door closed automatically behind her. Her friends were already ahead of her and spread out around the area. town was straight ahead, and if she was careful, she could get there with little struggle. She began walking quietly, keeping her steps light to make little noise. Ane and Adrian began walking toward the town as well. They got pretty far and let their guard down, which wasn't a very good idea in a forest infested with Heartless.

Suddenly, a large group of Heartless lashed out at them, cutting them off from escape and ambushing them. Rin lifted her arm in the air and summoned her weapon: a double-bladed scythe. Wither her scythe, she could manipulate the element of shadow, which came in handy while fighting Heartless off, and working in sync with Ane was easy, too. She was a very good fighter, but she didn't get to show off all too often because Ane and Adrian were overprotective of her.

"Rin, help me out a bit!" yelled Ane, who began forming a giant cannon-gun-like weapon.

"You got it!" Rin grinned. This was her chance to show Adrian and Ane that she could take care of herself and didn't need to be treated like a baby. She ran behind Ane and began powering up an attack that could wipe out most of the Heartless, and Adrian was talking out the ones that got near them.

"Alright, get out of the way!" Rin yelled, her attack just about powered up, "Steady it, Ane!"

"Got it!" he yelled, and Rin launched her attack, a powerful shadow blast, right into the cannon that Ane created, which amplified that blast and wiped out the remaining Heartless in a flash. Rin and Ane took a moment to catch their breath, then look at each other and laughed, victorious.

"Good work," Adrian said, walking up to them, "But now that that's over, we should get to town." Ane nodded and followed Adrian down the path, leaving Rin behind.

Rin let out a big sigh. That was her big chance to impress the two of them, and they blew it off like it was nothing. She looked down at one of her scythe bladed, viewing her reflection. What was it about her that made Ane and Adrian doubt her power? Maybe because she was short? Or was it her light voice? She stared into her own pink-ruby eyes. They were menacing, why couldn't her friends see that? Her face was round and a bit babyish, but she could still look tough. It was probably her light pink hair. It made her look like a small bunny. She glared at herself in disgust; she would never be the person she wanted to be.

"You want to be respected, don't you?"

Rin froze and went silent. She didn't recognize the voice speaking, meaning there was a stranger in the forest with her. She stayed quiet and still, and kept her breathing calm.

"Well, I saw you fighting, and I respect you. I think you're pretty skilled."

Rin spun around quickly. "Who the heck a-!" She stopped speaking. No one was there, or at least, not anymore. She looked around some more, but it seemed that whoever was talking to her had vanished. Taking in a deep breath to clam her nerves, she dismissed her weapon and left the forest to catch up with Ane and Adrian.

Ane sighed unhappily. "Just look at this place! It used to be so nice once," he said, his eyes darting around the town, "But ever since those stupid Heartless came about, everyone has been leaving!"

It was true. Every time they visited this world, Rin noticed less and less people. That's why the three of them traveled around and fought-they wanted to keeping everything somewhat safe, but the task continued to get more and more difficult.

The three of them visited all the remaining shops, stocking up on potions, food, medicine, everything they needed. Ane was normally the one to do the talking, but sometimes Adrian would chime in, too. Rin rarely talked to strangers; she lacked some social skills. It was only with Ane and Adrian that she could be herself and be comfortable. They were like family to her.

As they left on of the local shops, Rin and Ane chatted casually, and almost didn't notice that Adrian wasn't with them. They turned around to see him talking with two men hidden under black robes, a sight that made Rin feel uneasy. Ane, who noticed this, pulled out his wallet and grabbed some munny.

"Here," he said, handing Rin the munny, "Take this. Go buy us all an ice cream. You can get whatever flavor you like." He gave her a dorky grin. "Even a soft serve, mon cher."

Rin looked over at Adrian, then looked up at Ane and nodded. She stuffed the munny in her pocket and turned to walk down the street to the ice cream vendor. While she tried to keep her mind off of it, she couldn't help but wonder what those two men in cloaks wanted with Adrian. Was one of the men with her in the forest? Was that who she was talking to?

She almost passed the ice cream vendor while she was deep in thought. "Keep your mind off of it," she told herself. She smiled. "Just think about soft serve ice cream."

Rin relaxed on the floor of the ship with Adrian at her left and Ane at her right. They all stared out at the stars that could be seen from out the window. Jean summoned his gloves, and pantomimed a small guitar. He strummed the chords lightly, singing a lullaby that Rin knew word for word. This was a nightly ritual for the three of them, and it was what Rin fell asleep to. She loved listening to Ane's beautiful voice, and occasionally even Adrian would chime in. It made Rin feel safe and secure, and it was always a wonderful way to end the night.

Ane dismissed his gloves, sure that Rin was asleep. He looked down at her with a bit of pain behind his ocean eyes, and pulled a blanket over her. "When should we tell her?" he asked quietly, lifting his gaze toward Adrian.

Adrian answered, averting his eyes. "She'll find out tomorrow," he answered blatantly.

"Do you really think this is best for her? For us?" Ane asked, a bit worried.

"No," he answered," "But it's what's right. We can't keep doing this forever."

Ane looked down at Rin, trying not to stress.

Adrian looked down at her as well, and brushed a stray piece of hair out of her face. "She isn't a little girl anymore, Ane. We need to let her live a life of her own."

Ane sighed. "I know."

"We'll always be there for her. There's nothing to worry about."

"I know. I just don't want to lose her."

"You won't, we won't. You and I both saw her in the forest today; her fighting skills are incredible. If anything, she should be worried about losing us."


End file.
